Diseases of Aging Flashcards
Who discovered Alzheimer’s disease?
Alois Alzheimer
What is dementia?
loss of memory and other mental abilities that are
severe enough to interfere with daily life.
What causes dementia? What are its treatments?
physical changes in the brain, not really known the causes of it, so there isn’t really a treatment
What are 2 perceptual functions that someone with Alzheimer’s struggles with?
Perceptual Fusion: This is the ability to see
rapidly occurring events as separate entities
(a visual 2-point discrimination).
Visio-spatial Processing: Copying drawings,
tracing mazes, assembling puzzles.
What are language functions that someone with Alzheimer’s struggles with?
*An inability to name familiar objects.
*Putting words together without apparent meaning.
*Echoing what other people say.
What happens in stage 1 of Alzheimers?
Normal brain function
What happens in stage 2 of Alzheimers?
Mild cognitive decline.
The normal aging process includes a gradual loss of
cognitive processes.
What age does memory loss begin?
40
What happens in stage 3 of Alzheimers?
Mild cognitive decline
trouble naming objects, remembering
people’s names and losing things of value.
What happens in stage 4 of Alzheimers?
Moderate cognitive decline
Simple arithmetic becomes a problem (e.g.,
counting backwards by 4), there are
problems with short-term memory, and
personality changes are apparent.
What happens in stage 5 of Alzheimers?
Moderate to severe cognitive decline
The problems in Stage 4 worsen
plus people may have difficulties dressing
themselves (e.g., getting buttons aligned).
What happens in stage 6 of Alzheimers?
Severe mental decline
Needs help with simple daily tasks, including
hygiene. There is little recognition of family
and friends. People get lost easily. Physical
problems begin.
What happens in stage 7 of Alzheimers?
Very severe mental and physical decline. This is the terminal stage of the disease.
How does a normal aging brain compare to an Alzheimer’s brain?
There is a physical loss of neurons, particularly
in the hippocampus and cortex, leading to brain
shrinkage.
Why is the nucleus basalis of meynert area of the brain important?
Is important for memory formation and learning
uses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and connects to the hippocampus and cortex.
What are 3 ways to in the brain to diagnose someone with Alzheimers
1) a loss of cells in the nucleus basalis
2) ‘plaques’
3) ‘tangles’.
What are plaques in the brain?
collections of proteins that stick together
in a way that is toxic to neurons.
What are tangles in the brain?
disruptions of the internal structure of
nerve cells, causing them to die.
What happens with acetylcholine in a brain with Alzheimers?
There is no reuptake of acetylcholine, only
chemical breakdown.
Synthesized from ChAT to breakdown to AChE
What do Alzheimer medications try to do?
Increase the amount of acetylcholine in the synapse, thus
compensating for the loss of acetylcholine production.
What do the medications for these diseases do long term?
They aren’t “curing” the patient, just prolonging and slowing regression. The patient will eventually get so bad that medication won’t help anymore
What are symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?
Abnormal Movements: (resting tremors, muscular rigidity, involuntary movements)
Loss of Movement: (postural disorders, inability to right oneself, abnormal locomotion, speech disturbance, absence of movement or facial expression)
What is one theory for the dramatic increase in the number of Parkinson’s cases?
Increase of pesticides and industrial pollutants
What is stage 1 of parkinsons disease?
mild symptoms
slight tremors on one side of the body, changes in walking, posture, facial expressions
What is stage 2 of parkinsons?
worsening symptoms
changes in walking and movement makes daily tasks more difficult
What is stage 3 of parkinsons?
loss of balance and slow movement makes falls common
daily living becomes increasingly difficult
what is stage 4 of parkinsons?
severe symptoms, rarely live alone
walkers or other aides needed for movement
what is stage 5 of parkinsons
the final stage, 24h care needed
wheelchair confinement, hallucinations
Why is it easy to tell on a brain scan if someone has parkinsons?
the substantia nigra part of the brain is pigmented black and parkinsons brains don’t have that
what does the substantia nigra do?
sends dopamine to different parts of the brain that make up the basal ganglia
What happens when substantia nigra neurons die?
the loss of axons to the basal ganglia means that dopamine can’t be transported
What do the surviving dopamine receptors do when someone has parkinsons?
increasing its sensitivity to the
declining levels of dopamine
What is the most common parkinsons drug and what does it do?
L-DOPA
increases levels of dopamine so that more is released
What does deep brain stimulation do for parkinsons patients?
sends electrical stimulation to the basal ganglia
